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Big Love (Simply Red album)
2015 studio album by Simply Red From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Big Love is the eleventh studio album by British pop group Simply Red. The album was released on 29 May 2015 by East West Records.[4] It is their first studio album since Stay (2007), and the first album to only feature original material since Life (1995).[5] Big Love is also the first album to be released under a new recording contract with East West Records, a label Simply Red previously were signed to until April 2000.[6]
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Background
On 3 November 2014, Simply Red announced they would be reforming in Autumn 2015 for the Big Love Tour, a 30th anniversary European tour[7]
On 19 April 2015, on their official Facebook page, the band announced that they would be releasing a new studio album containing 12 new tracks.[8]
Lead singer Mick Hucknall said of the album: "Once I began wondering how Simply Red were going to sound, I started writing songs. With Stay I was running away from Simply Red. But now I'm comfortable with the notion of us as a blue-eyed soul group. I had to stop myself fighting that idea. Our sound is original too. I honestly don't know of another band that has pulled so many musical strands together".[5] Hucknall has said he wanted to make an album like Stars with a consistent theme: "And the theme here is life from a family viewpoint. It’s an album that deals with birth, love, death, and all the stuff in between".[9]
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Chart performance
The album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 18,292 copies, becoming Simply Red's 13th top 10 album.[10] In December 2015, the album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 60,000 copies in the UK.[11]
Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a "weighted average" rating out of 100 from selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a Metascore of 58, based on 7 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12] Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian gave Big Love three out of five stars and wrote that, "a wizened nostalgia hangs above this blue-eyed soul – the songs are smooth and sentimental, like easy-listening epitaphs. Wistful laments are nothing new for the group, and their unbridled sincerity remains consistent."[13] The Telegraph's Helen Brown also gave the album three out of five stars, and commented that "Hucknall appears to have got some of his mojo back, with added sincerity."[14]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Mick Hucknall.
- The album was re-released on 27 November 2015 in a two-disc version entitled Big Love – Greatest Hits Edition (30th Anniversary), featuring a second CD with 18 previously released tracks.[16]
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Personnel
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Musicians
- Mick Hucknall – vocals, guitars, all backing vocals (2–7, 10, 11, 12)
- Dave Clayton – keyboards
- Kenji Suzuki – guitars
- Jack Stevens – bass (3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11)
- Roman Roth – drums (1–4, 6–11)
- Ian Kirkham – saxophone (1, 2, 10, 11)
- Kevin Robinson – flugelhorn (3, 6), trumpet (10, 11)
with:
- Danny Saxon – additional keyboards (1, 2)
- Juan Ayala Valdez – additional keyboards (7), additional guitars (7)
- Gavin Goldberg – programming
- Andy Wright – programming, backing vocals (1), bass (8)
- Mark Jaimes – additional guitars (1, 2), bass (1, 2)
- Steve Lewinson – bass (5, 12)
- Pete Lewinson – drums (5, 12)
- Peter-John Vettese – string arrangements (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9), backing vocals (9)
- Jim McWilliam – orchestrations and conducting (3, 4, 6, 7, 9)
- Isobel Griffiths – orchestra fixing (3, 4, 6, 7, 9)
- Everton Nelson – orchestra leader (3, 4, 6, 7, 9)
- David Whitaker – string arrangements (12)
- Sam Swallow – backing vocals (1)
- Purdy – vocal feature (7)
- Lauren Flynn – backing vocals (8)
Production
- Andy Wright – producer
- Mick Hucknall – producer, mixing
- Lewis Chapman – recording
- Gavin Goldberg – recording
- Adrian Hall – recording, mix engineer
- Lorenzo Agius – photography
- Dean Chalkey – band photography
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Charts
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Certifications
References
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